House of Sweets
by QueranAislinn
Summary: <html><head></head>The woman's voice was sugary sweet like her house.</html>


They could see an oddly shaped house in the distance and they sighed in relief. There had to a person living there, there was smoking coming from the chimney.

Ginny glanced at Ron hopefully. The twins had lost them in the forest, and with those two you could never tell if it was on purpose or not. They could hope it was only a mistake, but they hadn't been found yet and they were tired and hungry. Ginny thought she had heard Ron's stomach rumbling only minutes ago.

Ron shrugged and moved towards the house. His pace quickened as he realized that the house was edible. Ginny wanted to shout out a warning of caution but Ron had already reached out and plucked a piece of the house. He glanced at Ginny, looking puzzled, before putting the piece into his mouth and reaching for another.

Ginny winced, almost expecting lightning or something equally strange to hit him for being stupid. When nothing happened Ginny joined him in eating pieces of the house, her hunger didn't allow her to stand doing nothing while watching Ron stuffing his face with food.

"My dear children..."

The woman's voice was sugary sweet like her house. Ginny and Ron started, they hadn't noticed the door opening or the woman coming up behind them.

"I'm sorry. We were just so hungry…" Ginny tried to apologize after Ron had not bothered to pause in his eating. For a moment Ginny wondered why there were no animals eating bits of the house, but she quickly cast that thought aside. Maybe they had just had too much sweet stuff? The house had probably been standing there for some time.

"No matter. My house can easily be fixed. Come in, it is growing chilly outside."

Ginny paused again, caution ensuring that she didn't walk blindly into another trap. If the twins had taught her anything, it was caution.

Ron didn't have the same reservations as she did, which was probably also the reason why he kept falling for the twin's tricks, and followed the woman into the house. Ginny couldn't understand why Ron had suddenly become so trusting. She shook her head entertaining thoughts of all that sugar getting to Ron's head.

Ginny followed Ron into the house nonetheless. She couldn't exactly leave her brother, git as he may be, to the mercy of whatever sweet food the woman could probably drown Ron in. Merlin knew he would fall for it. Ron always fell for anything that had anything to do with food.

The inside of the house was darker than Ginny had expected it to be. She guessed the sweets didn't allow for much light to pass through. It seemed the woman didn't like too much light either, or maybe it would be more accurate to say that the woman liked darkness which was odd for a woman with a sweet house.

The woman's black hair tangled behind her as she skipped into the house. She was young, and beautiful Ginny had to admit, which made her begin to wonder if there was anyone living with the woman.

Ron followed the woman. Ginny expected he was still led by his hunger despite how much he had already eaten. Ron's stomach had always been bigger than his brain.

Ginny sighed but followed Ron anyway.

When she walked into the house, Ginny saw the woman looking at her with approval.

"Caution is a good quality to have, dear child. It would serve you well."

Ron was already starting on the food that had been left on the table. Ginny slid into the chair next to him, wondering at the woman's use of the past tense.

"I'm sure you must be wondering who I am. You children can call me Aunt Bella."

Aunt Bella looked pleased when Ginny reached out to nibble at one of the cakes on the table.

Suddenly Ginny felt extremely sleepy. Vaguely noticing Ron slumped over next to her, Ginny rested her head on her hands and fell asleep.

Ginny woke in a cage.

She turned around to see that Ron was next to her in a similar cage to hers. He was still asleep.

"Morning child."

That sickly sweet voice was back, this time holding none of the warmth it did before. It had taken on a childish edge that held a tint of insanity.

"Why are you doing this to us? We haven't done anything to you!"

"_You_ haven't. Not directly at least. You simply remind me of everything I could have once had, everything I had lost."

Despite herself, Ginny was curious about this insane woman. "How do you mean?"

Ginny could see the insanity in Bella's eyes, but there was also a pain in them that was similar to the one Ginny saw in her mother whenever she spoke of the older sister Ginny could have had.

"I was pregnant once. I was young, and in love. I carried the child almost full term, eight months! I had even felt the child kicking against my hand! I had been happy for once.

"Christmas! The time for family, they say. That was the day I had lost mine. I had slipped on the snow. Slipped! Me! Hah! I knew better, someone had decided that I was too happy. When I woke up I knew I had been bleeding from the blood that hadn't been cleaned off my skin.

"Once bitten twice shy? Perhaps, but I decided to get the bigger dog and bite them back. If I couldn't have my child, why should anyone else be allowed to have theirs?"

There were forgotten tears in her eyes now, and Ginny couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You haven't gotten the chance to see my werewolves yet have you? Or my acromantulas? I think my acromantulas would like you. The werewolves like fatter people…"

Ginny really didn't think Bella meant friendship.

"No matter. You will assist me in making food for your brother."

Ginny felt her mind go blank for a moment before she was dragged out of her cage, something cold was around her neck now. Ginny's mind felt a bit fuzzy.

"You will open the door, should anyone knock, and you will cook with no complaints."

Ginny felt herself nodding. Bella laughed.

It had been a week. Ginny vaguely thought of the worry her parents were probably going through whenever her mind cleared. Those moments were filled more with thoughts of how to get _them_ out of here.

Ron was obviously of no use. Again.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Ginny's mind went hazy again as she was let out of her cage.

Ginny's hand had barely brushed the door knob when a sudden scream startled her.

"Don't open the door!"

It was the first time that Ginny had heard fear in the woman's voice, but it was too late, her hand had already turned the door knob.

A strange figure entered the room.

He was dressed in a long blue cloak that had orange edges. He had a hat that was made of the same material with a similar pattern. There was a long chain that wrapped around his neck and torso before finally wrapping around his right leg. His form was wispy, and similar to one she would have expected from a ghost.

"No…" Bella made a wailing sound that seemed to fill the room.

"Do you remember me, Bella?"

Ginny saw the tears running down the woman's face and, despite everything, began to feel a little sorry for the woman.

"Rodolphus…"

"Bella. Why?"

"I can't them have what they took from me!"

"Yet you are willing to do to them what they did to you. You are no better than they are."

Ginny's mind had turned clear and she took the distraction as a way to carefully release Ron from his cell. Thankfully Ron had been woken by Bella's earlier shouting and crawled out at Ginny's prompting.

Wishing there was some other way, Ginny grabbed the heaviest looking pan from the nearest shelf and slid her way behind the sobbing woman. She swung as Bella's face fell into her hands again, knocking Bella out cold.

The strange figure flickered as if confused, then disappeared.

Ginny dragged a stumbling Ron out of the house without looking back.

Being lost in the forest was much preferable to being in that house.

**AN: Caerphilly Catapults Round 12**

**Chaser 1: Hansel and Gretel**

**Prompts: (quote) "Once bitten twice shy? Sure, but... why not get a bigger dog and bite them back?" A.A. Bell, Hindsight; (word)****bleeding; (picture)**


End file.
